The Malefor Chronicles: Book One
by Winston7650
Summary: The events of this series describes what happened to Malefor after his exile. Following the death of a friend and the betrayal of another, Dragonheart and his friends are once again cast in to darkness when a familiar villain returns to take revenge on Dragonheart for what he believes to be wrongdoings. First of three.
1. The Curtain Rises

**The Malefor Chronicles Book One – The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 1-The Curtain Rises**

Our story opens up in a faraway place, a place located in another world. It's early morning, a dense, cool fog lays heavy on the ground. Here we meet a boy at the age of 14, he's of moderate height, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy is wearing a dark blue jacket over a black shirt, he is wearing blue jeans with a pair of old shoes. He's sitting in a tree, looking through a pair of binoculars at a floating island across from him. The ground below him is grassy and moist with morning dew, to the left of the tree was an old, wooden bridge leading to another island.

"Can you see anything?" asked a voice, slightly feminine, inside his head. On the boys left shoulder, a gem locked inside of a holster pulsed with energy when the voice spoke.

"No," replied the boy, "the fog's to thick, Buzz must not want us to know what we're getting in to."

"This is your fault you know." said the voice, "If you didn't say 'surprise us' we wouldn't be going in there without any information."

"You know what, you're right." stated the boy, "But it's not like you haven't made a few mistakes yourself."

"Are we really going to fight about this?" asked the voice.

"No." the boy answered.

"Good."

The boy dropped from the tree and walked to the bridge connecting the two islands, but just before he got there, the voice yelled, "Stop!"

"What is it?" asked the boy, slightly annoyed.

"Trolls." the voice answered.

The boy looked across the bridge and saw what the voice was talking about. On the other side of the bridge were two trolls with their backs to the boy. Trolls are like an ogre's shorter, uglier cousin. They are small, green creatures with pointed ears like an elf. The trolls in question wore nothing but tattered loincloths that thankfully covered up all the unwanted areas. They both had maces in their hands, that, combined with the troll's raw power, could break a boulder in half, and their smell was unmatched.

"Great, now how are we going to get over there?" asked the boy.

"There's only two of them." the voice said, "We can take them."

"Not before one of them alert the others." Stated the boy.

"Well, we're still dealing with some thick fog, and their backs are still turned to us," stated the voice, "maybe we can sneak around them."

"Good idea." responded the boy.

The boy slowly walked across the bridge, careful not to make any sound. Another thing about trolls is that their sight and smell are horrible, with their hearing being their only good sense. Because of this one fact, the young boy almost failed at sneaking around them. While circling around the trolls to get down the hill to the right of the bridge, the boy accidentally step on a branch that fell from a nearby tree. The branch made a loud snapping sound and drew the attention of the trolls. The left most troll barked a series of orders to his partner in undistinguishable grunts and snorts and they came over to investigate. The boy slowly began to back down the hill. Once he reached the bottom, he hid behind a rock and waited for the trolls to go back to their stations. The bottom of the hill was a few large rocks and a handful of shrubs. On the other island across from him was an oak tree but no way onto the actual island itself.

"Yeah, 'surprise us'," said the voice mockingly, "that's the last time I let you say something stupid before a fight or a mission."

"Will you please shut up about that?" asked the boy, "How about water under the bridge?"

"Okay, one, it's not water, it's a stupid comment," said the voice, "and two, how can it be under the bridge if it's drowning you?"

"You really don't understand analogies, do you?" asked the boy

"Well maybe I would if you weren't the only one of your kind I get to communicate with!" roared the voice.

"You and I both know that you've had plenty of chances to talk to other humans." Said the boy, trying to keep his voice level.

"The only reason I haven't talked to other humans is because we're always busy doing something else!" the voice responded hotly.

"Can we just, I don't know, forget about it, huh?" asked the boy, "Or do you want us to fail?"

"Fine." said the voice, obviously not wanting to forget about it.

The boy looked around at the bottom of the hill for a way to the other island, but he saw no bridge or any other way across, all he saw was the oak tree.

"Great, no way across," said the voice, "maybe we missed something back at the top of the hill."

"Or we could grapple across." stated the boy.

"We could if they weren't destroyed during that cargo plane incident." said the voice

"Well, I do have this." said the boy as he pulled out a black, metal cylinder with a hook on top.

"Where did you get that?" the voice asked.

"The Academy's storeroom." the boy answered.

"You stole from the Academy's storeroom?" asked the voice, somewhat surprised.

"It's not stealing if it's technically mine." answered the boy.

"You're impossible." said the voice humorously

"I know, now if you will please activate the armor we could actually get somewhere." said the boy.

"You do now you can just _think_ it on, right?" asked the voice

"Yeah, but I always think it on." said the boy, "It's like having steak and potatoes every night, sooner or later you're going to want something else, you know?"

"No." stated the voice simply, "No I do not, I don't eat remember?"

"Yes, I remember, now will you please activate the armor?" asked the boy.

The armor activated, materializing from the gem on the boy's left shoulder, which is the source of the voice. The armor itself was a sight to behold, becoming fully formed in a fraction of a second, it was made of an odd metal that not even the voice knew the name or properties of the helmet was tinted yellow. The chest plate and holster were a silver color as well as the 9mm wrist canon and sword on the right arm. On the helmet was a visor with armor readings and other information on the screen.

"I feel stupid for asking this, but how will you make sure you don't miss?" asked the voice.

"The visor's aim function, and you are stupid for asking that." answered the boy, "I can't believe you forgot that."

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to remember everything about you, the armor features, and everyone we've ever met?" asked the gem, not actually expecting an answer.

"Can we please argue after the mission's over?" asked the boy.

"Fine." said the gem somewhat reluctantly.

The young boy took aim then pressed a button on the metal cylinder, when he did so, the hook shot off the cylinder and caught on a branch of the oak tree on the other island. Connecting the hook and the cylinder in the boy's hand was a chain made of solid light. The boy ran to the edge of the island and jumped. Without the grapple, he would have fallen to his death, instead, he slammed into the side of the other island about 10 feet below the base of the tree.

"Please tell me you know how to retract the hook." said the gem, her voice tinged with fear.

"Sadly, no, no I do not." the boy answered.

"You're telling me you didn't test this thing before you took it?" asked the gem, anger taking place of her fear.

"Sadly, yes, yes I am." responded the boy.

"Ok, well do what you do best and start pressing buttons." said the gem.

"Alright, one, pressing buttons is not what I do best, two, I dislike you, and three, fine." said the boy, angrily.

After a few button-presses and dropping five feet, the boy found the right button and was pulled back up to the edge of island. Once he was on the ground, he reached up and untangled the hook from the tree branch then hung the cylinder back on his belt and deactivated his armor. The island was covered with shrubs and a few trees and large rocks littering the ground. On the far side was another bridge leading to an island with high stone walls, like a fort. Off to the side was an air dock with a hot air balloon tied to it. There was a hole in the wall that the boy thought led to some type of sewer system.

"Great there's no way to get inside without walking through the front gate." complained the gem.

"That's where you're wrong." said the boy, "We can go through that hole in the wall there, which probably leads to a sewer system or maintenance shaft. From there, we can find our way to the holding cells, free the objective, and escape via hot air balloon."

"You know what?" asked the gem.

"No tell me." answered the boy.

"Your plan is stupid enough that it might _not_ fail miserably." said the gem, jokingly.

"Are you saying that all of my plans fail miserably?" asked the boy.

"No," answered the gem," only most of them."

And with those words, the boy made his way across the bridge and into the hole.


	2. The Plan Fails

**Sorry that the main characters aren't getting names in this chapter, believe me they were supposed to, then chapter 1 dragged on for too long and I had to split it in two and push the original chapter 2 back one. Again, I'm sorry.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 2: The Plan Fails Miserably**

After 20 minutes of walking through the hole, which was now clearly a sewer, the boy was waist deep in foul smelling water. In the distance, a prison guard could be heard.

"Pipe down, or it's another round o' punishment for all o' yall."

A few whimpers of fear were heard, but after that the only thing that could be heard was the dripping of water farther in the sewer.

"How are we going to get them out without getting caught?" asked the gem.

"Well, the guard sounds pretty temperamental so he probably can't put up with much for long." answered the boy, "If he gets angry enough, he'll walk out to let off some steam, and that's when we'll strike."

"Alright, wise guy, just remember, no casualties and- "said the gem.

"And don't get caught, yeah I know." the boy interrupted.

At that moment, a door slammed shut farther in the tunnel system in the direction they heard the guard.

"I think he left." stated the gem.

"Or someone else just came down here." replied the boy.

"Wow, thanks for the morale boost, Captain Brightside." said the gem with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Don't mention it." the boy responded, not noticing the sarcasm.

Down a side tunnel, going in the direction that the guard and door were heard, a faint light was streaming down from the roof of the tunnel. The boy approached the source of the light, which was a rusted metal grate looking up at the sky through what remains of a roof. The boy unclipped the grapple from his belt and looped the hook through the rusted bars.

"What are you doing?" asked the gem.

"The grates old and weak, so if I pull with enough force I should be able to bust it open." answered the boy as he pressed a button on the grapple then walked as far as the it's chain would allow then started to retract the hook.

After a couple of seconds, the grate gave way and fell into the water. The boy climbed up into what remained of a house. Inside the house were a few chairs, although most of them were broken, and a table with a cage on top, which looked like it had a purple blanket locked inside. The blanket started to whimper and the boy went over to take a closer look. Instead of a blanket, there were half a dozen purple creatures.

"Any idea what these things are?" asked the boy.

"No, I don't have any information on them." answered the gem.

"Alright, we'll worry about that later then," said the boy, "for now, let's just get these things out of here before the guard retur- "

"INTRUDER!"

The boy whipped around and saw a creature whom he assumed was the guard back from whatever break he was on. The creature was orange with brown spots and hooped ears. The boy slammed his hand on the ground and a wall of earth erupted between him and the creature, turned around, grabbed the cage and climbed onto what remained of the roof.

"Greebles," complained the boy, "why did it have to be greebles?"

Down below another greeble yelled for the guards and to lock the gates. Trolls started streaming out of other houses, taking aim with their spears as best they could. The boy kept running as he activated the 9-mm wrist cannon and returned fire. Overhead, a troll warship flew past, dropping trolls onto the roof in front of the boy. He activated his sword and sliced through them, the ones who he defeated turned into multi-colored orbs while those who weren't ran off the roof onto the ground below.

"Whatever happened to no casualties" asked the gem.

"I believe that all went out the window when the guard saw us." responded the boy.

"Fair point." agreed the gem, "But how are we going to get out of here now that the gates are locked?"

"Why, that's elementary my dear Watson." said the boy.

"My name's not Watson." the gem snapped back.

"I know, now let me have my moment." responded the boy.

"It's always your moment." said the gem

"Exactly, now as I was saying, we can get out by blasting a hole in the wall because I can't fight or grapple up the wall with these things." said the boy as he slightly raised the cage, "And we don't have enough time or energy to use any magic, so I've decided to use the light cannon."

"Are you crazy?" asked the gem, alarmed that the boy is considering going through with his plan, "Because if so, it would confirm my suspicions."

"That's one reason I want to use it, not because I'm crazy, but because I want to test the probably dangerous, unstable weapon strapped to my left arm every day." responded the boy.

He activated the cannon, aimed it at the wall, then fired, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. The boy ran to the edge of the roof and jumped through the hole onto the air dock 2 feet from the hot air balloon. The gates behind him opened, letting through an army of trolls. The boy ignored them and ran to the balloon, cut the rope holding down as he ran past, then jumped inside. He started to steer it out of the range of the troll's weapons. Once he got 10 meters from the edge of the dock, a computerized voice said, " _SIMULATION COMPLETE. RESETING ISLANDS._ "

The boy looked down at the collection of islands and saw the entire fort disappear as well as the cage on the floor of the balloon's basket.

"So, what do you say to returning to the Academy?" the boy asked.

"We don't have anything else to do, so why not?" the gem asked back.

"I hate it when you answer my questions with a question." the boy responded.

"I know, that's why I do it." the gem said, as the balloon made its way back to the Academy.

 **I hoped you liked this chapter even though the back half was made up on the spot and the characters still don't have names. Chapter 3 will take a while to write but I should have a lot of time over the Mardi Gras break (go Louisiana), so it should be up next week, maybe, it depends on what comes up. Anyway, check back next week for chapter 3!**


	3. Nightmare in Dreamscape

**The characters get names, the rest of the main cast appears, we get a glimpse of the villain, and there is finally a change in setting. Please, enjoy chapter 3 and know that it will take some time for chapter 4 to be posted.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1 – The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 3 – Nightmares in Dreamscape**

The hot air balloon closed in on a castle like structure with dozens of towers and an expansive courtyard out front. Inside the courtyard was a collection of different creatures, ranging from different species of dragon to a fish man. They stopped what they were doing and watched as the balloon flew overhead and flew in the direction of an air dock on the far side of the courtyard. Down on the dock was another creature that was different from the ones in the courtyard, it had light brown fur, with an eyepatch over his left eye and a peg leg on his left side. He was half the boy's height, and one of the few people he was scared of. As the balloon descended towards the air dock, a bell rang in one of the towers and the creatures in the courtyard started going into the main hall. The boy exited the balloon and started to secure it to the dock, the creature came up behind him and said, "So, how did it go?"

"Don't play coy with me Buzz," responded the boy, "I know for a fact you saw the whole thing."

"True," replied Buzz, "but it was quite amusing."

"Yeah, sure," said the boy, "let's laugh at my failures later, for now, I want to know something."

"What is it?" asked Buzz.

"What were those things in the cage?" asked the boy

"The fluff balls? Those things are called Krebolds, they're rare creatures that were almost hunted to extinction, their fur is used for spells and potions." answered Buzz.

Far off in one of the towers was an explosion and a cloud of smoke rose into the sky.

"Speakin' of potions, sounds like the alchemy class is havin' a bit o' trouble." stated Buzz.

"You want me to go deal with that?" asked the boy.

"No, I'll get Gill to work on it, besides, Jet Vac asked you to talk to the rookies." answered Buzz

"Right, thanks for reminding me, I'll go get ready." responded the boy, then he ran past Buzz and into the building.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Five minutes after entering the building, the boy burst into the room, drawing the attention of everyone inside. He changed out of his old clothes and into a long white robe and a sash with eight different symbols etched into it.

"Sorry - I'm - late," said the boy through struggled gasps, "had - to - change. Give – me – a moment."

He then held up his hand and sliced through the air in a karate chop motion, where his hand passed, a rip appeared in the very fabric of reality. He reached inside and pulled out a water bottle. He opened it, and drank a little, and threw it back inside, closing the rip the same way he opened it.

One of the creatures in the back raised his hand and asked, "What was that?"

"That was a pocket dimension that a use as a portable locker. Is it safe? Well, it used to be, if that's any consolation." answered the boy.

Jet Vac gave a cough of impatience, the boy looked at him with a look that said, hold on, I'm getting to it. Then he walked to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone, my name is Dragonheart, and my friend here is Mary," said the boy as he gestured towards his left shoulder, "say hi Mary."

"Hello everyone." said Mary.

"As you all know, my role here in Skylands is Portal Master and the head master here at Skylanders Academy." said Dragonheart, "Mary, am I forgetting anything? No, good. Now any questions?"

"Why could we hear Mary the first time but not the second?" asked one of the creatures near the front of the room.

"Mary speaks using telepathy and broadcasts her voice to whomever she chooses." answered Dragonheart, "Any other questions?

Dragonheart kept answering question until the bell rang again and the creatures started leaving the room.

"Cynder, can you stay here for a moment?" asked Dragonheart.

"Sure thing." replied Cynder

Cynder was a violet dragon with a spiked neck brace and wristbands. While only an egg, Cynder was stolen by Malefor, the Dark Master, and raised in Darkness to do his evil bidding. She was eventually saved by Spyro and helped him throughout his journeys afterwards.

"Where's Spyro, I didn't see him during class?" asked Dragonheart

"I don't know," replied Cynder, "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Well, if you see him, tell him to come find me." said Dragonheart.

"Alright, I'll do that." said Cynder.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

The rest of the day passed without any major events and Dragonheart retired to his room, studying a magically infused map that he could change to show one of the first five out the six major Layers of Reality, which were Earth, Skylands, the Dragon Worlds, and two others that, at this moment, aren't terribly important. The door to Dragonheart's room opened and a purple dragon walked inside carrying a plate of food.

"Spyro, what a surprise." said Dragonheart, "Where's Hugo? He's the one that normally deliver's the food."

"Cynder told me you wanted to speak to me so I came as soon as I could, as for Hugo, I ran into him on my way here so I offered to bring it for him." answered Spyro, "What are you looking at by the way?"

"I'm searching the Layers for any sign of Malefor, he should let off large amounts of Darkness creating the Well of Souls, but I'm not getting anything." Dragonheart responded.

"Then maybe he isn't creating it." said Spyro.

"You know as well as I that after he was banished he created the Well, after that, he enlisted the apes for his army, all the while plotting his revenge, then, years later he attacked the Dragon Sanctuary trying to destroy your egg but instead took Cynder's and made her do his bidding." said Dragonheart, "It's almost curfew, you better leave before you get into some serious trouble."

"'Alright, see you later." said Spyro as he set down the plate, he then turned around and walked out the room.

Dragonheart turned his attention back to his map, gave the Layers a quick scan, and closed it.

"Holster detach." said Dragonheart. The holster containing the gem made a hissing sound and fell into his palm. He turned towards his bedside table, opened a box lined with velvet on the inside, and placed the holster inside. He climbed into his bed and after a few minutes, he fell asleep.

Dragonheart found himself standing a plateau overlooking the Academy. The Academy was in flames and down below in the courtyard, there were bodies laying lifeless on the ground but the air was too thick with smoke to tell who it was. Far off in the distance a malicious laugh was heard and a face of a purple dragon appeared in the smoke. A voice said in a whisper, "Don't trust him."

 **I'm so sorry this chapter took so long for me to post, almost two weeks in fact. I had a writing assignment in English class that I had to complete, so I couldn't work on the story. Sadly, chapter 4 is also going to take a while to complete, so please stick with me on this. I will tell you that one of the characters introduced in this chapter are not who they seem. Who? That's a secret that will be exposed by the end of the book.**


	4. Down to Earth

**First off, I'd like to thank LoNeWoLf for notifying me that chapter 3 was the same as chapter 2, honestly, I had no idea. A new character gets introduced that will be present at the end of the series, our heroes go to Earth, and I'm congested due to the pollen in the air so I can't hear anything in my left ear, Spring's fun.**

 **THE MALEFOR CHRONICLES BOOK 1: THE RETURN OF MALEFOR**

 **Chapter 4: Down to Earth**

Dragonheart woke in a cold sweat, remnants of the nightmare still running through his head. He looked over at the alarm clock on his bedside table, it read that it was 3 in the morning.

"Who doesn't she want me to trust?" Dragonheart asked himself. And he lay there, pondering this until the break of dawn.

Five hours later, Dragonheart walked into the Academy's library looking exhausted.

"Hugo!" he shouted.

A creature that looked like Buzz, minus the eye patch and peg leg, poked his head around one of the many bookcases in the room.

"Yes? What is it?" Hugo asked.

"Get Spyro, Cynder, and Bash, tell them to meet me at the Core of Light in 30 minutes, then get a hold of Gern Blanston and tell him to meet me at the usual spot." Dragonheart answered.

"Why do you want me to contact Gern?" Hugo questioned.

"Because I have a feeling that something big is about to go down, and Gern is the only one who might be able to give me some insight as to what it is." said Dragonheart, "In the meantime, I have to help Terrafin and Gill Grunt with a chompy infestation in the kitchen."

"I'll get right on it." replied Hugo.

"I knew I could count on you." said Dragonheart, then he ran in the direction of the kitchen.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Thirty minutes later, Dragonheart arrived at the Core of Light, as he got closer, he heard Spyro and Bash arguing with each other. Bash was a Earth dragon, he had no wings and his entire body was covered in stone due to years of rolling off cliffs in a vain attempt to fly.

"Why are we bringing _him_?" asked Spyro.

"Bash is one of the few people I can a.) tolerate and b.) trust with my life." replied Dragonheart, "Plus I need a second in command with plenty of field expertise, and with Drobot and Sunburn scouting the Dragon Worlds for the Well of Souls, there were few others who qualified."

"Why did you call us here?" asked Cynder, trying to change the subject, and interrupting Spyro, who was about to argue with Dragonheart's reasoning.

"We're going to Earth to gain some intel from an old acquaintance of mine named Gern Blanston," Dragonheart answered, "and I'm bringing you three along as lookouts as well as backup in case things go south."

Dragonheart raised his hand and an oval shaped hole that opened into a void of darkness appeared in front of the group. The hole itself was about the size of a door.

"Now, we're about to be late, so whose first?" asked Dragonheart.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

The group appeared behind a building, behind them was a chain link fence and an open field, to the left of them was an empty road.

"Ugh, I hate Void travel." said Cynder.

"You'll get used to it, and it's the only way to travel between the Layers other than using the Portals, so you'll have to at some point." said Dragonheart, "Bash, you're in charge of them while I go talk to Gern, so find some place out of sight and keep watch, now, let us hope that there isn't anyone here who knows me from before I started this hero business."

Dragonheart walked into the gravel parking lot, to the left of him was a driving range and a put-put course, to the right was the road. He pulled out a set of keys from his pants pocket and walked to a shed to the left of the range. When he reached the door, he knocked twice waited 30 seconds and unlocked the door. Before entering, he looked up at the roof of the main building and saw Spyro looking down at him, Dragonheart quickly gave him a thumbs-up and walked inside the shed. Inside was a machine that, when turned on, would pick up golf balls off the driving range and an old tattered couch. Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door, Dragonheart got up off the couch and opened the door. On the other side, there was a man who looked like he was in his mid-thirties and was the basis of the American stereotype.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to double back to make sure I wasn't being followed." said the man, "Now, why did you call me here?"

"Hello Gern, it's good to see you." replied Dragonheart, "As to why I called you, I need some info on someone."

"Before you get your info," said Gern, "I need you to answer some questions."

"Sure, what is it?" asked Dragonheart.

"A couple of weeks ago, a cargo plane appears, seemingly out of nowhere, in a New York airport with the back half of it looking like it was eaten off, some new super villain pops up in the Dragon Worlds, his name was Malefor or something like that." said Gern, "What I want to know is whether you had anything to do with that or not."

"Yes, I had something to do with both of those. All that I'll say about the cargo plane is that I had a run in with what a man named Craig Toomy called the Langoliers, or as someone named Bob Jenkins called them the Time-Keepers of Eternity. As for Malefor, he's the reason I called you here." answered Dragonheart.

"Well, what do you want to know?" asked Gern.

"I'm glad you asked." said Dragonheart

 **I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter as well as the Stephen King reference towards the end. Sorry for the short chapter and chapter 5 might be short as well, I don't know. As for the setting for the end of the chapter, it takes place at Putters Driving Range + Deli, located outside Lake Charles, Louisiana, although I refer to it as my father's failing business and the description of it is 100% accurate. Chapter 5 will have a bit more action than these past 2 chapters, so those of you who have been wanting more action, your welcome.**


	5. Passing

**I have nothing to say before the start of this chapter, it's a quiet Monday with nothing going on so that might have something to do with it.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 5: Passing**

"I'm glad you asked." said Dragonheart, "What I want to know is where he is and what he's planning, because I'm getting nothing on my end."

"I can't help you with where he is, he's been flying pretty low under the radar," replied Gern, "as for what he's up to, all I know is that he's stockpiling supplies all over the country in sewers and abandoned warehouses and subway tunnels."

"What about the Tower?" asked Dragonheart.

"The Tower has been dead for months, no activity what so ever." answered Gern.

"Good, that means that Malefor or the U.N. haven't been there since I was last there." said Dragonheart, "I still have some stuff to move out and I don't want anyone digging through it."

"You really don't like the government, do you?" asked Gern.

"I don't like Earth in general," Dragonheart responded, "that's why I spend so much time in Skyla-."

At that moment, an explosion sounded from outside the shed. There was the sounds of screams and cars starting up and driving away.

"Bash, what do you see out there?" Dragonheart asked into an earpiece. All he got in response was static.

"What did he say?" Gern asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Dragonheart answered, "they're jamming the signal. Mary, perform a thermal scan, please."

"Thermal scan complete, I got 20 of them outside of the shed." Mary replied.

"Okay, we've seen worse, but what about our guys?" Dragonheart asked.

Before Mary could respond, the door of the shed blew off its hinges and clanged against the opposite wall. Five men wearing gas masks walked inside, Gern hid behind the machine and Dragonheart, in a desperate attempt for cover, flipped over the couch and ducked behind it. The men raised their rifles and started firing at the couch and the machine. Dragonheart activated his armor and started firing back. Gern let out a cry of pain. Upon hearing this, Dragonheart ran out from behind the couch and sliced through the last of the 5 men then ran to check on Gern.

"Gern, are you okay?" asked Dragonheart.

"Of course, I'm not okay, I've been shot!" Gern shouted in agony.

"Where were you shot? I might be able to help." said Dragonheart.

"The right lung, but how will you help, you have no first aid supplies?" Gern asked.

"I may not have first aid supplies, but I do have Mary." said Dragonheart, "Mary, can you heal him?"

"No, I can't, the bullet was laced with some material that blocks my magic." said Mary, "And on top of that, it's acidic and burning through the lung as we speak."

"Well, if I'm going to die, I have to tell you something." said Gern, "Dragonheart, someone you brought here is not what they seem, it's the only way those guys would have known we were here, could block the radio's signal, and get this mystery material. Malefor's cunning, remember that, and never let your guard down and your inner Darkness get to you."

"I'm sorry I brought you into this Gern." said Dragonheart. And with those words, Gern Blanston passed away.

 **This chapter is dedicated to Gern Blanston 3/11/17 – 3/14/17, your sacrifice will always be remembered. Also, I'm sorry for another short chapter**


	6. The Guardian

**The end of the story draws near and a hidden truth is about to see the light. I personally think it's about time to reveal some more of Dragonheart's past, and I have a whole series planned that is devoted to his past so I won't reveal all of it for now. Also, a new character enters the fray and will be present at the end of the series. I hope you enjoy Chapter 6.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 6: The Guardian**

Dragonheart got up, taking one last look at one of the last people he considered an ally on Earth, and ran to what remained of the shed's doorway. He peered around the corner, making sure no one was ready to fire on him. He didn't see anyone in the area.

"Mary, another thermal scan please." he said

"Alright, I have good news and bad news." Mary responded, "Which do you want to hear first?"

"Give me the good news." answered Dragonheart.

"The good news is that I didn't detect anyone." said Mary.

"What's the bad news?" Dragonheart asked.

"The bad news is that I didn't detect anyone." Mary said.

A shout came from the field behind the building, Dragonheart looked over and saw the rest of the men hiding behind dumpsters on his side of the fence and a massive stone wall protruding from the earth in the middle of the field.

"Bash won't be able to hold out long, even with his Stone Projection." said Dragonheart

"What do you propose we do?" Mary asked.

"Get the Void Flyer online and send it here," Dragonheart answered, "land it behind the wall and we'll make our escape."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do." said Mary.

A couple seconds later a hole that was similar to the one Dragonheart and the three dragons went through earlier, only bigger, appeared in the sky. A sleek white ship that was made of the same mysterious metal as Dragonheart's armor came through and landed behind Bash's stone wall. Dragonheart ran out from behind the shed and ran towards the dragons and the Void Flyer, drawing the attention of the men near the fence, causing them to change targets to the one that was exposed and easier to shoot. Dragonheart activated his wrist cannon and started returning fire as he made his way to the wall.

"Get on the ship!" yelled Dragonheart, "Bash, fire up the engines!"

Just as Dragonheart was turning the corner, a bullet grazed his right shoulder and sent a jolt of pain throughout his body. Doing his best to ignore the pain, Dragonheart climbed aboard the Void Flyer and made his way to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot seat.

"Where do you suppose we go?" Bash asked.

"The only relatively safe place on Earth I know of is the Tower," Dragonheart answered, "and its fully stock with medical supplies, so we should be able to tend to our injuries."

"Sounds good to me, what we waiting for?" Bash asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Dragonheart answered.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Four hours later, off the eastern coast of Africa, a ship flew over the ocean and landed in the hanger of a large tower. Our heroes exited the ship and went into the tower's meeting chamber, which at times doubles as the living room.

"I would like to personally introduce you all to the Tower." said Dragonheart, "The kitchen is fully stock, although I'd stay away from anything that isn't canned, there's first aid supplies in every bathroom, and bedrooms are down the hall to the left. And stay out of the lab, it's the definition of unsafe."

"Why? What's in it?" Cynder asked.

"Well, it depends on what's still in there, some of it might have escaped." Dragonheart answered, "Anyway, if anything goes bump in the night, it's probably not one of us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a call."

Dragonheart walked back into the hanger and went to a panel in the wall, pressed a button, and said into a mic: "Contact Pop Fizz." A light on the panel lit up and on the screen was a small, fuzzy, blue ball with long pointed ears and a handful of potions.

"Pop Fizz." said Dragonheart, trying to get the ball's attention, "Pop Fizz, get you head out of your potions for one second.

"What?" said the ball, turning around to face Dragonheart, "Oh, Dragonheart, what are you doing here?"

"Pop, I need your help with something, you think you can come help?" Dragonheart asked.

"Yeah, sure I can," said Pop Fizz, "I wasn't doing anything important anyway."

"Thanks Pop," said Dragonheart, "I 'll fill you in when you get here."

Ten minutes later a bright light filled the room for a split second and standing next to Dragonheart was Pop Fizz.

"So, what's the problem?" Pop Fizz asked.

"The men who attacked us had their bullets laced with an unidentified, acidic material and I need you to manufacture a counter agent to neutralize the effects." said Dragonheart."

"Alright, I'm going to need a sample of the substance and a lab that I can use?" asked Pop Fizz.

"There is a lab here but it might be a bit dangerous to use it, and you should be able to extract a sample from my shoulder." answered Dragonheart.

"Alright then, everything's set, as soon as I extract a sample I can get to work." said Pop Fizz.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Nine hours later, Dragonheart retired to one of the many bedrooms in the tower and climbed into bed, five minutes later, he was asleep.

Dragonheart found himself in an empty, white, void. Suddenly, he heard the same voice that warned him say: "Hello again, Wielder of Light."

"Guardian, why have you contacted me?" Dragonheart asked.

"We don't have much time, he is watching." said the Guardian.

"Malefor?" asked Dragonheart.

"Yes, the one you and the dragons exiled two months ago." said the Guardian, "As for why I contacted you, I came to warn you that the exiled one is preparing for an attack upon you and all those whom you defend and mentor."

"Malefor is planning an attack on the Academy?" asked Dragonheart.

"Yes, soon he will attack and you must be ready to fight him or else all you love will fall before his evil." said the Guardian.

"Who is it that I shouldn't trust?" Dragonheart asked.

"We are out of time, if I stay any longer you will be in more danger than you already are," said the Guardian, "goodbye, brave Wielder, until we meet again."

The vast white expanse slowly faded until all was dark, a dark, menacing voice boomed through the darkness and said: "Pathetic fool, no matter how long you prepare, you will never defeat me. all you hold dear will burn, and you will watch helplessly as it does so. Now wake and be warned, I am coming to destroy you and I will love every second of it."

Dragonheart woke with the words of Malefor still echoing throughout his head and a shiver of fear ran down his spine.

 **Disclaimer: I'm not saying that the Guardian of Light is God, the Guardian** _ **is**_ **a supreme deity though, like Gozer from Ghostbusters 1 who was more of a sub-god or demigod (not to be confused with Rick Riordan's demigods) than an actual god.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed chapter 6 and I tried my best to be accurate with how long it would take to fly from Louisiana to the general location of the Tower so more effort was put into this than other chapters and it's longer than the last few I posted.**


	7. The Seeds of Darkness

**Hello everybody, I hope you've been enjoying the book and have been eagerly anticipating the reveal about which character isn't who they say they are. Also, the book is sadly coming to an end in the next chapter because I couldn't draw out the story any longer (I also didn't want to because no one likes it when a story is drawn out.). I hope you enjoy chapter 7.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 7: The Seeds of Darkness**

"It's done!" exclaimed Pop Fizz. It's six in the morning, everyone is gathered in the Tower's central chamber getting ready to head back Skylands after yesterday's events.

"Excellent, now we can sterilize my bullet wound so the acid isn't eating through my shoulder." said Dragonheart.

Cynder and Bash turned towards Dragonheart with looks of fear and concern on their faces, the only one other than Pop Fizz who didn't look concerned was Spyro. Dragonheart thought he saw a smile form on Spyro's face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

"You were shot and you didn't tell us?" asked Cynder.

"I didn't want you guys to worry so I decided to keep it under wraps." said Dragonheart, "It hardly matters now, so there's no need to worry."

"You still should have told us." Bash responded.

"Look, we're leaving in five minutes, so go get everything ready while I get this wound sterilized." Dragonheart said.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Five minutes later Dragonheart and his friends exited the Void at the Core of Light and made their way to the Academy's courtyard.

"Can we please find some other form of transportation; Void travel makes me sick." Cynder complained.

"Well, I find Void travel to be more precise than using the Portal system and it lets us travel to Layers that aren't connected by Portals, so if you can find us a more reliable mode of transportation, let me know." said Dragonheart.

As they entered the courtyard, Jet Vac walked up and stopped them.

"Jet Vac, where's Hugo?" asked Dragonheart, "I asked him to meet me here."

"Hugo had to go to Stonetown to work out a trade agreement so he asked me to take his place." Jet Vac answered.

"Alright, give me an update on the Well of Souls then." said Dragonheart.

"There has been no change in the Well's condition since you last checked," said Jet Vac, "I'll let you decide whether that's good or bad."

"That's not possible." said Dragonheart, "He should be building the Well as we speak."

"I already told you that Malefor's not building the Well." said Spyro.

"Oh, really, and how is it that you know this?" asked Dragonheart.

"Because he's right here talking to you." said Spyro.

"Spyro, what do you mean?" asked Dragonheart.

"You're a bit slow on the uptake, aren't you? What I mean is that Malefor is me and I am Malefor." said the purple dragon that was formerly known to the group as Spyro. At that moment, five massive warships flew overhead and an army of apes dropped down and surrounded the courtyard. An ape in purple armor and a spiked helmet walked up to the purple dragon, two long scimitars holstered at his waist.

"So, the exile finally shows his face," said Dragonheart, "took you long enough. And Gaul, I see you still have your eye."

"What's that supposed to mean?" grunted the ape.

"Well, as River Song once said; spoilers." said Dragonheart, a smile playing across his face.

"I do believe that is enough of your quirky commentary." said Malefor, "Now Gaul, raise the barrier."

Gaul turned and barked at four apes behind him, they ran off and a few seconds later the sky darkened and pulsed with a strange, dark energy. Malefor walked up to the Academy's doorway, then turned around to view the group of Skylanders below him. He told one of the apes to bring him one of the rookie Skylanders. The ape grabbed one of the rookies and brought him up to Malefor who grabbed him by the neck.

"Before we begin, Dragonheart, I need you to hand over you gem." said Malefor, "If not, this poor whelp dies."

"Holster detach." said Dragonheart, his eyes, burning with rage, never leaving Malefor. An ape walked over and took Mary from Dragonheart's outstretched hand and took it over to Malefor.

"Thank you for your cooperation Dragonheart." said Malefor. He then lifted the rookie into the air and threw him against the border. The instant the rookie touched the barrier, his whole body burst into flames. The rookie let out a scream of pain and then died, his body nothing more than a burnt crisp on the ground.

"That was a warning to those hoping to flee." said Malefor.

"You promised he would live!" shouted Dragonheart angrily.

"Did I?" asked Malefor, "It seems that little detail slipped my mind. Gaul, take care of them, but leave Dragonheart alive. I want him to suffer for as long as possible."

Malefor turned around and entered the Academy. The apes surrounding Dragonheart and the Skylanders smiled cruelly and started to close in the group. Dragonheart leaned close to Cynder and said, "I need an opening, think you can get me one?"

"One opening coming up." said Cynder, a fierce smile forming on her face. She leaped into the air and breathed Shadow Fire on the apes below causing them to back up in fear and confusion. Dragonheart took advantage of the distraction and ran past the apes and vaulted over the railing. Gaul stepped in front of the Academy's front door and drew his scimitars.

"You wouldn't attack an unarmed man, would you?" asked Dragonheart.

"I attack who ever I want, be them armed or unarmed." Gaul grunted.

"Well, in that case, en garde!" yelled Dragonheart.

Gaul raised his scimitars and rushed Dragonheart who side stepped the attack and kicked Gaul in the back making him fall and drop his swords. Dragonheart ran over and picked up one of Gaul's swords as Gaul was recovering the fall. Gaul grabbed his other sword and sliced at Dragonheart who parried the attack and thrust the blade into Gaul's left eye. Gaul let out a scream of pain and clutched at his eye as Dragonheart opened the door to the main hall to confront Malefor.

 **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Dragonheart found Malefor standing on the far end of the main hall.

"I should have known you would do whatever it takes to reach your end goal," said Malefor, "even if it means throwing away others' lives. You've done it before."

"That's what this is all about?" asked Dragonheart, "I've already told you that both of you knew what you were getting into, you just let your feelings get to you."

"If it wasn't for you, she would still be alive!" Malefor roared.

"She was alive until you killed her out of pure anger." said Dragonheart, "That's one reason you were exiled in the first place."

"I've had enough of your lies, of your trickery!" Malefor yelled, "During these past two months I have had plenty of time to think, and I've come to the realization that I am the one destined to destroy you once and for all. And after I kill you, I will kill everyone here, after that, Spyro, Drobot, and Sunburn will die."

Malefor charged Dragonheart, his horns down to impale him. Dragonheart rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack, causing Malefor to crash into the thick oak doors of the main hall, his horns stuck.

"Mary, where are you?" asked Dragonheart.

In his head, he heard Mary say, "I'm on the mantle of the fireplace, took you long enough to get here."

Dragonheart ran to the fireplace, but before he could reach it, a fireball flew past his head and hit the ground in front of him, creating a wall of fire between him and Mary. Dragonheart turned and saw Malefor facing him, free from the oak door. Black shadows rose from Dragonheart's body his face twisted into an angry grimace.

"The seed of Darkness has been planted, give into your anger, let it feed the Darkness inside of you!" Malefor yelled.

Dragonheart, no longer able to control his anger, let out a scream of rage and a ring of black fire appeared around him. The fire quickly spread throughout the room lighting everything ablaze. Dragonheart saw a door of darkness appear behind Malefor and then the world went dark.

 **I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 7 and Dragonheart's confrontation with Malefor. I've been wanting to write this since I started this little project of mine. Sadly there is only one last chapter for this book, but I've enjoyed writing this and giving you all something to read in your free time.**


	8. Aftermath

**We've reached the last chapter of book one at last. The beginning of this chapter will be a bit different than every other chapter by bringing in not just a 1** **st** **person view but Cynder's view as well. I thought it would work well with this chapter so I decided to add it. I'm also working with a rough draft again (the last chapter that had a rough draft was chapter 3). Fun Fact: I wrote this chapter before I wrote chapter 2.**

 **The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor**

 **Chapter 8: Aftermath**

Cynder's POV  
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I finished off the ape I was fighting and saw the Academy burst into black flames, starting at the main hall where Dragonheart and Malefor were fighting and quickly spread throughout the rest of the building. I saw the potions room explode due to the heat given off by the flames. I watched in horror as the battle raged around me. I heard my own voice, as if it was coming from down a long tunnel, as I shouted Dragonheart's name. I sat helplessly as I watched my new home burn to the ground.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

An hour later the battle concluded and the barrier dispersed. The Skylanders that weren't severely injured, or worse, during the fight went to search the ruins for anyone or anything that wasn't lost to the flames. I searched the main hall, starting with where I last saw Dragonheart. I went towards a large, unsearched pile of rubble. I moved aside what was left of a column and saw Dragonheart, unburnt, lying unconscious on the ground.

"Somebody come over here, I found him!" yelled Cynder in excitement, "I found Dragonheart!"

Bash, Pop Fizz, and Whirlwind ran over from the other side the ruins. Whirlwind was half air dragon and half unicorn who grew up unexcepted by either race until she saved them from the forces of Darkness, she was also head of the Academy's medical division.

"Whirlwind, when I move enough of the rubble, I need you and Pop Fizz to bring him to the med tent." Bash ordered, "Do what you can with what we have."

Whirlwind gave a quick nod of agreement then looked at me and said, "Don't worry Cynder, I'll make sure he gets out of this alive, nobody's fighting Death on my watch, especially Dragonheart, those two hate each other."

I looked at Whirlwind, gave her a little smile and said, "Thanks."

And with that Whirlwind and Pop Fizz ran off back to the med tent, carrying away the man who brought me and Spyro here two months ago, but those two months have felt like two years.

3rd Person POV

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dragonheart woke up three hours later in the med tent, pain wracking his whole body. He tried to sit up and yelped in pain. Whirlwind ran into the tent and saw him.

"You're alive!" she yelled, bursting with joy, "I can't believe you're actually alive!"

"Yeah, well, I guess it's better than being dead again." said Dragonheart.

Whirlwind pocked her head out of the tent and yelled, "Pop Fizz, go get Bash and Cynder, hurry!" She reentered the tent, looked at Dragonheart and repeated, "I can't believe you're alive."

"Yes, Whirlwind, yes I am." said Dragonheart, "Where are we, why aren't we in the Academy's med bay?"

Whirlwind teared up and started to say, "The reason we aren't in the Academy's med bay is because- "

At that moment, Bash, Cynder, and Pop Fizz burst through the tent flap and all three of them yelled in unison, "You're alive!"

"Yes, I'm alive." said Dragonheart, slightly annoyed, "Now, will someone tell me why we aren't in the Academy's med bay. And where is Mary?"

The reason we aren't at the Academy is because there is no Academy to be at." said Bash.

"What do you mean?" asked Dragonheart.

"He means that the Academy burned to the ground." said Cynder.

Dragonheart stared, not wanting to believe what they were saying. Then, everything came rushing back to him, the fight, the black flames blazing around him.

"I did it," he said, his voice barely audible, "I started the fire." He cast an ashamed, downward look, not wanting to see his friends faces.

"You want to go see it?" asked Whirlwind, "It might help ease some of the pain."

"Or it could make it worse." said Pop Fizz.

Bash, Cynder, and Whirlwind turned around and shot him a death stare.

"What?" asked Pop Fizz, "Was it something I said?"

"Even though I don't want to, I feel like it's by duty," said Dragonheart, "so lead the way."

He stood up, wobbled, and almost fell. He managed to straighten himself, his face pale and sweaty. Whirlwind saw this and said to Bash, "Get him some crutches from the supply cabinet, he's going to need them."

Bash went over to the supply cabinet, grabbed some crutches and brought them over to Dragonheart. Dragonheart took them and hobbled out of the tent. Outside the tent was the Academy's courtyard, which was filled with other tents. Some acting as temporary housing, others acting as kitchens and mess halls.

"How many did we lose?" asked Dragonheart.

"Thankfully, we didn't lose many, about four or five." said Whirlwind, "Most of the Skylanders that weren't present during the attack have returned from their assigned missions and have started to help with the recovery."

Dragonheart and his friends made their way to what remained of the Academy, which was now nothing more than an empty shell, barely intact in places and destroyed in others. They made their way into what remained of the main hall. As soon as they entered, Dragonheart went to where the mantle once was.

"Did you find Mary while searching?" he asked

"No, we didn't find her." said Whirlwind.

"Thought so," Dragonheart responded, "The Darkness inside of me has grown to powerful, I'm no longer fit to be the Wielder."

"What do you suggest we do now?" Cynder asked.

"The only thing we can do for now is rebuild the Academy." said Dragonheart, "With the way things are, there's no hope of us confronting Malefor and rescue Drobot, Spyro, and Sunburn."

"So, that's why we haven't been able to contact them." said Bash, "Malefor has them."

"Yeah, things look pretty bad for the good guys." said Cynder.

"For me, they always do." Dragonheart finished.

And with those words, our heroes stood in the ruins, hoping for a brighter future ahead.

 **I hope everybody enjoyed book one of the Malefor Chronicles. I admit that I took some liberties with Gaul's eye and Malefor's backstory, but I had no other way to continue the story and I felt like some extra details were needed (mainly for Gaul's eye, seeing as how they didn't really go into detail on how he lost it in the games), I hope you die-hard fans can forgive me. Also, I'll be taking a short break beak before start posting content for the next book (except the first chapter, just to give you a little taste of what's to come).**


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